George m



Patented Dec. 6, I898.

G. M. HUBBARD.

No. 6l5,556.

S N A P H 0 0 K (Application filed Oct. 18, 1897.)

(No Model.)

lNrTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE M. HUBBARD, or NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR To THE w. a E. T.FITCH COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

SNAP-HOOK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 615,556, dated December6, 1 898.

Application filed October 18, 1897. Serial No. 655,521. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE M. HUBBARD, of New Haven, in the county ofNew Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improvement inSnap-Hooks; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings and the letters of referencemarked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same,

10 and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, andrepresent, in

Figure 1, a top View of a snap-hook constructed in accordance with myinvention; Fig. 2, a side View of the same; Fig. 3, a sec- [5 tionalview on line a b of Fig. 1; Fig. 4, a side View, partially in section,indicating the manner of forming the hook.

This invention relates to an improvement in snap-hooks of that class inwhich a sheetmetal U-shaped spring-tongue is employed.

The essential features of snap-hooks of this character are constructionswhich permit the spring to be readily inserted into its seat and fromwhich when so inserted it is not liable to accident-a1 displacement.

Another and very important feature is to so construct the snap that itmay be readily cast with the minimum possibility of imperfect castingsand which in rolling or finishing e are not liable to breakage.

The object of this invention is to produce a snap-hook embodying thesefeatures, and it is an improvement upon the snap-hook shown anddescribed in United States Patent No.

5 554,489, granted February 11, 1896, to my assignees. The constructionshown in that patent necessitates a transverse bridge, beneath which thelower member of the spring-tongue will extend, to form which requiresgreat care in casting; and a further object of the invention is to avoidthe necessity of this bridge; and it consists in the construction, ashereinafter described, and particularly recited in the claim.

As herein shown, the body A is formed at one end with a hook B and atthe opposite end with a loop 0, as usual in snap-hooks. Extendingthrough the body A is a recess or chamber D, open at the top and bottomand extending at the rear into the said loop. The forward end of thischamber is shaped to form a spring-seat d, and the rear of the chamheris partially closed by a retaining-finger E, formed integral with thebody and loop and extending across the chamber, as shown in Fig. 3, andthe central portion of the said finger extending upward and forward overthe chamber between the side walls thereof, as shown in Fig. 1. Thisfinger may be cast in a forwardly-projecting position, as shown, or, ifpreferred, for convenience in casting the finger may extend upward, asshown in Fig. 4. The spring F, which is a strip of sheet metal bent intosubstantially U shape, is inserted into the recess, so that its shortend rests upon the seat at and its long upper end projects forward forengagement with the nose of the hook, it being understood that incasting the nose of the hook is distorted or turned to one side and bentinto proper position after the spring is inserted into its seat. Afterthe spring is inserted the finger E if cast in an upright position isbent down, so as to bear upon the upper face of the spring, or if castforward is given a slight rap, if necessary, to seat it upon the top ofthe spring; but in neither case is it forced downward sufficiently tokeep the forward end of the spring out of engagement with the nose ofthe hook. The finger thus formed acts to prevent the rearward movementof the spring, and also by extending over its upper surface prevents thepossibility of the spring being twisted out of engagement with the noseof the hook and thereby displaced. 8 5

It will be seen that a snap-hook thus constructed is readily cast andthe finger is of sufficient size to allow the perfect running of themetal in molding and withstand the possibility of breaking in tumblingor finishing.

I am aware that snap-hooks have been constructed with the upper edge oftheir cheek portions bent over the upper member of the spring-tongues. Iam also aware that snaphooks comprising a flat spring have been 5 formedwith a finger adapted to be bent down over the rear end of the spring,and therefore do not wish to be understood as claiming such as myinvention.

Having fully described my invention, what mo I claim as new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is

A snap-hook composed of a cast-metal body having a nose at one end and aloop at the opposite end, and formed with a chamber at its loop end openat the top and bottom and extending into the said loop, and also formedwith an integral retaining-finger which connects the rear walls of thechamber so as to partially close the open end thereof, and which alsoextends upward and forward overthe chamber between its side walls, and aU- shaped sheet-metal tongue in said chamber, the upper member of whichextends forward beneath said finger into contact with said

